Myths and Legends about the Moon

There is something haunting in the light of the moon;
it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul,
and something of its inconceivable mystery.
—Joseph Conrad 1857-1924, Polish-born British Novelist

In ancient times, moon along with other heavenly bodies was revered. That nobody could reach it, increased its mystic. This fascination with the moon, gave birth to many myths and legends. It has always been associated with love, purity and beauty. What makes it appear more mysterious is the ever changing face of the moon that shines so bright in the dark sky.

Myths and Legends about the Moon
Not all stories about the moon are false, most myths were born and legends created have some form of truth in them, that may be relevant to the time they were created. Following are some of the famous myths and legends about the moon from around the world:

The Sun and The Moon
The Sun was in love with the moon and wanted to marry her. However, the reluctant moon came up with an idea. She told the sun, that if he gave her a gift that would fit her size, she would marry him. So the mighty sun got her the most beautiful robe ever seen. But it didn't fit her. So he got another size, that too didn't fit her. It was either too big or too small. He just could not understand her trick. The moon is never the same size everyday, she goes through different phases from the period of the full moon to the new moon. The poor sun is still trying to get the robe to fit.

Chang'e Legend
Chang'e is a Chinese goddess of the moon and lives on it. This legend is extremely popular throughout China and is retold during the Chinese Moon Festival on the 15th of the 8th lunar month. Chang'e and her husband Houyi were immortals living in heaven, who were sent to earth to live, as mere mortals by the Jade Emperor as a punishment. Chang'e was saddened by her mortality and wanted to return. To bring back their immortal life, Houyi undertook a long journey to the Queen Mother of the West. She gave him a pill of immortality and warned him against taking it whole. However, in her greed to become immortal again, Chang'e swallowed the whole pill and started floating into the sky, towards the moon. Houyi could do nothing about it and the two lived separately forever; Chang'e on the moon and Houyi on the earth.

The Necklace Myth
This myth is about a beautiful diamond studded necklace, and the queen who wore it. She would wear it the whole day along and take it out only in the night. She would place the necklace on her bed stand at night, and wore it as soon as she was awake. But one fine day, she couldn't find it there and asked her knights to search for it. They searched the whole world and found the thief. It was King of Galaxy 32, who had stolen it for himself. The queens knights dueled with the Galaxy king and won the necklace back. She gave it to the knights for safe keeping. And safe it is! We can see it every new moon, glittering in the dark night sky.

Coyote and Eagle Steal the Sun and Moon
This legend is from the time when there was no sun and moon in the sky. It was always dark. The coyote was a lazy hunter, so one day he teamed up with the eagle saying, "Two can catch more than one." Coyote made excuses for not doing any work by saying, that he couldn't see the prey in the dark and suggested to the eagle to search for some source of light. They traveled to the Red Indian tribe, where the Kachinas (masked dancer) were dancing. The Kachinas held out two cases which had the sun and moon respectively. The coyote and eagle stole the large box and flew away. The eagle flew with the case a long distance before handing it to the coyote, who out of curiosity opened it. No sooner had he opened, the two balls of light leaped out. They had stolen both; the sun and the moon and put it in the same box. The sun flew out and rose into the sky, whereas the moon not knowing where to go, ran in circles around the earth.

Besides the above ancient stories about the moons there are a few modern ones too. No-moon day is believed to affect human behavior resulting in more crimes, accidents and suicides. Higher birthrates and fertility is also attributed to the moon. In certain oriental countries, the sex of the unborn child is determined according to the particular moon phase it was conceived in. However, old or new, the myths and legends of the moon will continue to fascinate us.